Fenton park extra thrills wet set

But hardly a mother, father or child could be found climbing on the monkey bars or running around on the sun-baked soccer fields.

Instead, nearly everyone was drawn by the allure of the Splash Pad, the new Foothills park's latest — and most enticing — attraction.

"This is awesome," said Jacqueline Winters, as she shook water from her hair. "We're going to come here all the time now."

Winters and 7-year-old daughter Trinity Thompson were at Brandi Fenton to attend a birthday party for Winters' nephew. The party was held underneath a ramada just to the south of the Splash Pad, but cake and presents couldn't compete with spraying water on this day.

"This is the best thing to do here in Tucson," Winters said before heading back over for more soaking.

The Splash Pad is unique in terms of public facilities, says Pima County recreation superintendent Joe Barr, whose department opened the water park on April 22.

"It's the only public stand-alone splash pad in the county," Barr said, noting there are splash pads connected to public pools at Jacobs and Picture Rocks parks. Those places, however, include a small admission fee, while Brandi Fenton's water attractions are free to use.

"We probably have upwards of 300 people there on the weekend," Barr said. "There's 20 to 30 kids in there at any time. It's definitely a very popular amenity that we'd like to include in future parks."

Because there is no actual body of water — all the water flows into drains on the ground, then the water recirculates to spray back out again — Barr said no lifeguards are needed.

Having a place where kids can cool off without worry appealed to Lynette Roudebush, who held her daughter Alyssa's fifth birthday party in the vicinity of the Splash Pad last Saturday.

"It's great for families that have more than one child who can't swim," said Roudebush, who paid $25 to reserve a ramada just west of the Splash Pad. "You can keep an eye on all of them in one place."

The Splash Pad is in the center of the 55-acre park, which opened in December and is named for a 13-year-old Foothills-area girl who died in a car accident in 2003.

The Splash Pad is 60 feet in diameter, with a gate that encloses the circular wet area. It has a rubberized surface that cuts down on slippage.

Inside the gate, water lovers of all shapes and sizes can run through miniature fountains or tunnels fitted with spray nozzles; they can operate water cannons to douse friends, or for a larger burst of liquid refreshment they can stand under one of several cone-shaped buckets that fill with water and then spill over.

"I love the buckets!" exclaimed 11-year-old Sophia Woodruff as she and a group of friends took a break from getting soaked. "If you're here with friends you can just run around and get each other wet. Or you can play tag, and it's a harder game of tag because of the water."

The concept of a splash pad was one of the first things to come up during the design of Brandi Fenton Memorial Park, said project manager Nancy Cole.

"We felt this was going to have a big impact on the neighborhood," Cole said. "We're not intending to build any pools in the area."

If you go

• What: The Splash Pad at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park.

• Where: East River Road and North Alvernon Way.

• Who: For children 12 and under and those accompanying them.

• Hours: Daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Splash Pad is expected to remain open through Halloween.

• Cost: None.